How do dogs react to newborns? A Step-by-Step Guide

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Preparing Your Dog for a New Baby

When you bring a new baby home, your dog will face an overwhelming number of novel sights, sounds and smells. She may find some of them upsetting, especially if she didn’t have opportunities to spend time with children as a puppy. You’ll drastically alter your daily routine, so your dog’s schedule will change, too. And, out of necessity, she’ll get less of your time and attention. It may be a difficult time for her, especially if she’s been the “only child” for a while.

To make things go as smoothly as possible for everyone, it’s important to take some time to prepare your dog for the arrival of your new addition. In the months before the baby comes, you’ll focus on two things:

  • Teaching your dog the skills she’ll need to interact safely with her new family member
  • Helping your dog adjust to the many new experiences and changes ahead

    • Your dog will benefit from any training you can accomplish before your baby’s birth.

  • Teaching your dog some basic obedience skills will help you manage her behavior when the baby comes. Please see the section below, Teaching Your Dog Important New Skills, for specific training guidelines. Consider enrolling in a group class to get a head start.
  • Four months before the baby arrives: Gradually introduce your dog to the new experiences, sights, sounds and smells she’ll encounter when you bring your baby home, and associate these new things with rewards. This will help your dog learn to love life with the baby.
  • One to two months before the baby arrives: Anticipate the changes you’ll make to your dog’s daily routine, and start making those changes.

    • Teaching Your Dog Important New Skills

    Having good verbal control of your dog can really help when it comes to juggling her needs and the baby’s care. The following skills are particularly important.

    Basic Manners:

  • Sit and down
  • Stay, wait at doors and settle: These skills can help your dog learn to control her impulses, and they’ll prove useful in many situations. For example, you can teach your dog to lie down and stay whenever you sit in your nursing chair.
  • Leave it and drop it: These two behaviors can help you teach your dog to leave the baby’s things alone.
  • Greet people politely: A jumping dog can be annoying at best—and dangerous at worst—when you’re holding the baby.
  • Relax in a crate: If you crate train your dog, you’ll know that she’s safe when you can’t supervise her, and she’ll have a cozy place of her own to relax when things get hectic.
  • Come when called

    • Special Skills:

  • Hand targeting: If your dog is nervous or timid, teaching her to target your hand with her nose will give her something to do when she’s around the baby, which might make her feel more comfortable and confident. After your dog learns how to target your hand, you can even teach her to gently touch the baby with her nose!
  • Please go away

    • Teaching your dog to go away when you ask will enable you to control her movements and interactions with your baby. For example, you can use this cue to tell your dog to move away from the baby if he’s crawling toward her and she seems uncomfortable. Many dogs don’t realize that moving away is an option! If she learns that she can simply walk away from the baby when he makes her nervous, she’ll never feel trapped in a stressful situation—and she won’t be forced to express her anxiety by growling or snapping. Here’s how to teach your dog this invaluable skill:

  • Show her a treat, say “Go away,” and toss the treat four or five feet away from you. Repeat this sequence many times.
  • The next step is to refrain from tossing the treat until your dog starts to move away. Say “Go away,” and move your arm as though you’re tossing a treat. When your dog moves in the direction of your gesture, even if she only takes one step, say “Yes!” Then immediately toss a treat four or five feet away, in the direction your dog started to move.
  • After more repetitions, try waiting until your dog takes several steps away before you say “Yes!” and toss the treat.
  • Play fetch: Teaching your dog to play fetch with a toy can prepare her for safe, fun interaction with your child.

    • Teach Your Child to Respect Your Dog

    As your child develops, teach him to respect your dog’s body, safe zones and belongings. Always supervise interactions so that you can guide your child as he learns to communicate and play with your dog appropriately. Playing an active role in the development of a relationship between your child and your dog will benefit everyone.

    Show your child what gentle, enjoyable petting looks like. Teach him to stoke and scratch your dog in her favorite spots. Explain that hitting, kicking or pinching dogs, as well as riding, teasing and intentionally scaring them are NOT okay.

    Teach your child to play structured games with your dog, like fetch, tug-of war and hide-and-seek. Training games, trick training and clicker training are also a lot of fun for both kids and dogs.

    Enroll your dog in obedience classes with an instructor who welcomes children so that your child can learn to be with his dog in a gentle, effective way. When your child gives your dog cues, be sure to back him up. For instance, if your child says “Sit” and your dog complies, help your child praise her like crazy and hand him a treat to give her! If he says “Sit” and she hesitates, immediately repeat “Sit.” If you do this consistently, your dog will learn that every time your child requests a behavior, you will too—so she might as well respond to your child and earn a reward more quickly.

    Introducing Your Dog to a New Baby (The NATURAL Way)